i am genius level

2005.04.21

In My iPod: The OC's Mix 4

The music supervisors of Fox's hit drama, the O.C., have done it again with
their fourth installment of underground, indy, emo.

As an O.C. enthusiast since half-way through the first season, I can
honestly say that there is one thing that the O.C. does completely right, and
that is, pick music. After each episode of the primetime soap opera (which
I affectionately refer to as the cross between 90210 and Melrose Place), Fox gives props to a few
standout songs heard on that night's episode. Where 90210 and Melrose Place went
wrong (as you'll recall, they both had nightclub hangouts: The Peach Pit After
Dark and Kyle's Upstairs) is the part where they had shit music.

The O.C. gets it right by getting the right sound for the times (how many
people were listening to jazz in the '90s?), appealing to their characters'
taste in music (you'll always hear about how Marisa loves this band or
Seth and Summer have seen that band live), and by keeping the music
mellow--bringing it out only when appropriate and not making it the center of
the show.

Mix 4 pulls together some old favorites and new standards in alt-rock, emo,
indy, whatever-you-wanna-call-it-genre. Beck makes an appearance with
"Scarecrow" after premiering 5 all-new tracks on a recent
episode. Modest Mouse is back with "The View" after performing
live on the show. Frou Frou (dressed up as Imogen Heap) shines on
"Goodnight and Go."

My favorites are Pinback's "Fortress," where you'll need a copy of
the lyrics if you ever hope to belt along with your windows rolled down (my
sister and I learned this the hard way); "Cartwheels" by The Reindeer
Sections, where delicate vocals meet for coffee over acoustic guitars and a
gentle drumbeat and a violin (you'll know it when you hear it); and I really
enjoyed Bell X1's "Eve, The Apple of My Eye" because of the glorious
piano, enchanting vocals, and the very subtle use of a xylophone and an organ
and an acoustic guitar that creeps in after about two minutes, this song is
haunting and deserves to be heard.

While these may be my favorite tracks on the CD, the mix, like fine wine,
gets better with time.

The song that used to annoy me, The Futurehead's
"Decent Days and Nights," is now my new driving standard. It's
such an appropriate opening track. Opening tracks were designed to be
full of life and energy, prepping you for the musical journey you're about to
embark on. The peppy beat and interesting vocal arrangements...well it's
just punk fantastic fun. There's no way screaming out "decent days
and nights!" a few times along with the track won't pump you up for a long
trip. Like I said, it's my driving standard.

A surprise on the disk was the cover of Oasis's "Champagne
Supernova" by Matt Pond PA. I was a huge fan of Oasis, but somehow
never quite attached myself to this song, always feeling that other tracks on
their What's the Story, Morning Glory album were better. But like
I told DJHens when I recommended the cover to him, there's an interesting
carnival-like feel to this remake: it makes it mellow, easier to listen
to. And no one can resist a symphony in the middle of a rock song.
It's quintessential. The vocals sound syrupy--nothing like Liam
Gallagher's rough and ragged original.

Yes, the music producers over at Fox are doing a damn good job figuring out
what songs need to be played--and what songs need to be listened to over and
over and over again. This CD resides in my iPod, my car stereo, and my
iTunes playlist. I don't mess around when I'm listening to new music, and
I love that the O.C. doesn't mess around when it's trying to educate me about
it.